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Selenium sediment toxicity thresholds and derivation of water quality criteria for freshwater biota of western streams
Author(s) -
Van Derveer William D.,
Canton Steven P.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.5620160623
Subject(s) - sediment , streams , environmental science , biota , water quality , drainage basin , hydrology (agriculture) , total organic carbon , environmental chemistry , river ecosystem , selenium , aquatic ecosystem , riparian zone , ecology , geology , ecosystem , chemistry , biology , geomorphology , habitat , computer network , cartography , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , computer science , geography
Waterborne and sediment selenium (Se) data, in conjunction with selected physicochemical parameters, were collected from streams of the middle Arkansas River basin, Colorado, USA, to examine the factors affecting sediment Se accumulation in a lotic environment. An empirical model of dissolved‐to‐sediment Se transfer in western streams, as an interactive function of sediment organic carbon content ( R 2 = 0.78, p < 0.001, n = 34), was developed and validated. Sediment Se and associated biological effects data were compiled from the literature, to provide an estimate of sediment Se concentration thresholds that have biological effects. Based on this preliminary analysis, sediment Se concentrations of 2.5 μg/g would be a threshold based on predicted effects and concentrations of 4.0 μg/g would be the observed threshold for fish and wildlife toxicity. The dissolved‐to‐sediment Se transfer model can be used to translate this type of sediment Se toxicity threshold to a site‐specific chronic water‐quality standard for western streams based on empirically derived sediment total organic carbon values.